Yvette Cooper: I am today announcing additional funding of £732 million of flexible infrastructure support for local authorities who have committed to high rates of economic and housing growth in the designated new growth points or in the growth areas designated in the 2003 sustainable communities plan.
	In the housing Green Paper we set an ambitious goal of 2 million homes by 2016 to help respond to the increasing housing crisis, for example for young families trapped in overcrowded accommodation and unable to afford a home. The growth areas and growth points will play a critical role in helping us reach these targets delivering a total of 870,000 new homes by 2016, of which 210,000 are additional to existing plans. Following the housing Green Paper we have invited more authorities to join the scheme, particularly in the northern regions, either as new growth points or eco-towns, and I will make a further announcement on the selection of successful bids in February.
	The 117 existing growth authorities have now set out their infrastructure plans in long-term programmes of development which they have put together with partners bringing together the future investments they need to create sustainable growth. These will facilitate major new developments, for example in town centre renewal, in opening up development sites, many of them brownfield, and to provide a high standard of community facilities and new green infrastructure.
	For these areas I am announcing today funding of £224 million for 2008-09 with indicative awards of £336 million for 2009, 2010 and 2011, and a further allocation of around £172 million for 2009-11 once we have consulted on and reviewed the new approach to funding. Additional funding will also be provided in due course for other councils who come forward to back eco-towns or become additional growth points. Examples of projects set out in the programmes of development include:
	major town centre renewal schemes transport solutions to support growth, improvements to road capacity, more sustainable travel through park-and-ride and better cycleways and walking routes;
	overcoming physical barriers to help town centre renewal such as building additional railway crossings;
	new green infrastructure, for example along river corridors;
	new community facilities and buildings;
	new civic spaces and amenities.
	Some of these schemes will need other funding sources and may take longer and cost more than is available in this round of funding—that is why our new approach gives authorities flexibility to so that they can use the funding where they judge it will be most effective in line with local government White Paper principles.
	This is a new strategic approach which will enable local authorities to supplement mainstream funding for transport, education and health and give them greater scope to meet priorities locally. It gives them greater scope, for example to improve the quality of development schemes coming forward and ensure that these schemes benefit existing communities as well as new ones.
	Local partners need to know that when they commit to growth, Government are willing to support them with additional funding to ensure that new housing developments are sustainable, good quality and that we invest in communities not just houses.
	In addition to the funding I am announcing today we will shortly be inciting expressions of interest for the community infrastructure fund, which is run jointly with the Department for Transport of £200 million for transport schemes to support housing growth projects.
	Looking to the future we need to find new ways to increase the resources available to partners to fund local infrastructure. We have introduced legislation in the planning Bill for a new community infrastructure levy that will increase investment in the vital infrastructure that growing communities need. The levy has the potential to raise hundreds of millions of pounds of additional investment on top of current Government funding and negotiated agreements, and can be spent on a wide range of community infrastructure—this could be major transport improvements, schools, parks and health centres.
	All development creates some need for infrastructure, services and amenities and it is only fair that new developments pay their share. At present, infrastructure benefits for local communities are typically secured from major developments only.
	Councils will need to draw up long-term costed infrastructure plans in order to apply the new levy. Those plans will need to be consulted on and tested to ensure the levy supports growth. Detailed arrangements will be set out in secondary legislation. The Government will continue to work closely with the main developer and local government bodies during the passage of the Bill as we draft regulations. We want to build on the innovative arrangements that some authorities have introduced, learning from their experience and providing a clearer and firmer footing for best practice.